A little History:
A little history of the diamond – you never know when it may come in handy at your next local table quiz.
Diamonds are thought to have first been recognized and mined in India along the rivers Penner, Krishna and Godavari, which I someday hope to visit.
They have been known in India for some three thousand years but most likely six thousand years. Since their use as religious icons in India, they have been treasured as gemstones. Their usage as engraving tools also dates to very early human history.
Since the 19th century the popularity of diamonds has grown greatly due to increased supply, improved cutting, polishing techniques and growth in the world economy. The dispersion of white light into spectral colours is the primary gemmological and favoured characteristic of a diamond.
The proof that diamond is pure carbon was discovered by Antoine Lavoisier in 1772, by his concentrating of sun rays with a lens in an atmosphere of oxygen. The only product of the combustion was carbon dioxide.
Do you know why a diamond is so strong? This is because its carbon atoms are linked to each other in a way that forms a rigid box like shape, which is in fact the strongest known chemical bond. This cubic crystal structure is known as a lattice.
Year on year approximately 130 million carats or twenty-six thousand kilograms are mined. The total value of this being nearly nine billion Dollars and roughly one hundred thousand kilograms of synthetic diamonds are mined also.
The quote I leave you with today is:
“Let us not be too particular. It is better to have old second-hand diamonds than none at all.”
Quotation by Mark Twain
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